Grace Omachoko
The Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier Yusha’u Ahmed, has called on the employers to prioritise corp members’ welfare and focus on issues that will encourage them to contribute meaningfully to national development.
Ahmed made this known at the 2023 Corps Employers’ Workshop tagged: “Optimizing the Productivity of Corp Members Through Enhanced Welfare and Security During the Service Year”, held in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital.
Addressing the employers at the workshop, the DG, represented by NYSC Area Director, Tunde Oyebade, stated that the workshop provides a platform to evaluate the relationship between the custodians of the Corps members and the operators of the scheme with a view to discussing issues that has to do with Corp members’ welfare and security.
According to him, “most employers do not provide accommodation for corps members under their care and they also do not pay commensurate amount for transport allowance to corps members.”
He also noted reports of security threats from Corps members arising from insecure locations of accommodation and primary place of assignment(PPA).
“We are aware that kidnapping has become a common trend and our corp members are not spared. Security being everybody’s responsibility, employers are expected to keep tabs on the activities of their corps members.
Oyebade also enjoined the Employers to support corps members in CDS Initiative by contributing and identifying sponsors who could help complete special projects.
Speaking on the way forward, he charged employers to optimize the productivity of Corps members, enjoining them to ensure that resolutions and recommendations provided during the course of the workshop are applied to advance the NYSC scheme as well as the welfare and security of corps members serving in the state.
Also speaking at the event, Chairman NYSC Ekiti State Governing Board, Alhaja Habibat Adubiaro, represented by Commissioner for Youth and Development Ekiti State – Hon. Adesola Gold Adebayo addressed the need for corps employers to effectively utilize talented and energetic corps members in service to the nation.
He revealed that the workshop serves as a platform for the NYSC management and corps employers to generate impactful resolutions that will enhance the scheme’s service delivery in the state, adding that the Ekiti State government fully supports the NYSC’s efforts to improve the working relationship between employers and corps members.
According to him ” the forum will pave the way in harnessing the numerous benefits the NYSC offers, not only for our state but for the entire country, especially in contributing to the nation’s socio-economic development irrespective of challenges faced, as empowering youth will lead them to productivity which in turn will foster solutions to these challenges.”
